Slicing machine



July 28, 1942. E. E. BURGESS ET AL SLICING MAC E 2 Sheec t 1 i=z z //lj ii!ii Filed Aug. 17, 1939 INVEN Rs Elton L. B

Hans /7 CUTTERS 6i itlUTEE-ii.

Patented July 28, 1942 SLICING MACHINE Elton E. Burgess, Brooklyn, and Hans Letsch, New York, N. Y.

Application August 17, 1939, Serial No. 290,610

4 Claims The present invention relates to a slicing machine, which, although having a wide range of utility, is particularly applicable to the cutting of peeled raw potatoes into long thin strips for French fry.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved machine for cutting edibles into strips, all of uniform cross-section, irrespective of the size or shape of the edible.

Another object is to provide a slicing machine of the general character described, which is comparatively simple, durable, rugged and compact, which can be operated expeditiously with a minimum of effort, and which is well suited to meet the requirements or economical manufacture.

Another object is to provide a slicing machine of the type referred to, which can be easily cleaned without disassembly, and which can be easily disassembled for repair or replacement purposes.

Various other objects will be apparent from the following particular description, and from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a slicing machine embodying the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a detail section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, but on a larger scale,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective of the slicing unit with parts shown broken away,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective of one of a series of parallel knives of the slicing unit,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective'of one of another series of parallel knives to be mounted in cross relationship with respect to that shown in Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is the bottom end view of the plunger, for forcing the edible to be sliced through the various cutting units, and

Fig. 9 is a perspective showing a slicing unit of difierent design, adapted to be interchanged with that shown in Figs. 1 to 8.

Referring to the drawings, the slicing machine comprises a frame member ID, which is desirably in the form of a rigid plate, having a series of holes H for firm attachment thereof to a wall by means of screws or other similar fastening means, but which as far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, may be in the form for stable support on a table or for clamp attachment to the edge of a table top.

Extending forwardly from the lower part of the wall plate I0 is a substantially horizontal tray l2, supporting the trimming and slicing units to be hereinafter described, and provided on one side with a downwardly inclined spout 12a for the urpose to be made apparent. Tray [2 is desirably removably mounted, and for that purpose is supported on a bracket 13, integral with the wall plate l0, and having outward horizontal flanges H. The tray [2 is secured to these bracket flanges H by means of screws l5, passing loosely through said flanges, and threaded into respective washers l6, soldered or otherwise affixed to the underside of said tray. To further assure rigid support of the tray l2, the rear marginal wall I! thereof desirably abuts the wall plate 10, and is removably secured thereto by screws l8.

Mounted inside the tray I2 is a device for trimming preliminary to the slicing operation the potato or other edible to be sliced. This trimming device is in the form of an upright tubular member 20, shown of square cross-section, and provided with a cutting edge 2| around its upper rim. This tubular cutter 20, desirably of stainless steel, is secured to a holder 22 having an opening 24 of square cross-section, snugly receiving the lower part of said cutter. To assure rigid support of the cutter 20 in the holder 22, it is desirably soldered thereto along the upper edges of the latter.

The base of the cutter holder 22 is provided with an outward flange 21, seated on the bottom wall 28 of the tray l2, and removably secured thereto desirably by screws 30, passing loosely through respective holes 3| in said tray wall. On the bottom side of this tray wall 28, the projecting portions of the screws 30 receive knurled finger nuts 32.

Held between the base of the cutter holder 22 and the bottom wall 28 of the tray is a slicing unit 35, adapted to cut a potato into long thin strips, after it has been trimmed into predetermined cross-section by the trimming cutter 20. In the form shuwn in Figs. 1 to 7, this slicing unit 35 comprises a square border frame 38, in which are held two series of straight stainless steel knives 31 and 38, arranged in lattice relationship parallel to the sides of said border frame, and forming a series of square openings 39 of uniform size. In order to interlock the two series of knives into rectangular relationship, the knives of one series, for instance knives 31, are each provided with transverse slots 40, extending across the upper half thereof, and arranged at equally spaced intervals therealong as shown in Fig. 6, and the knives 38 of the other series are each provided with transverse slots 4|, extending across the lower half thereof, and arranged at intervals therealong corresponding to those between slots 40 as shown in Fig. 7. The two series of knives 31 and 38 are interlocked by halving joints formed by straddling the parallel knives 31 over the parallel knives 38 along the slotted sections thereof.

In .order to retain the knives 31 and 38 in the border frame 36, the ends of these knives are provided at their upper edges with recesses 43 to form tongues 44. These tongues 44 extend into respective slots 45, which are milled or otherwise formed in the border frame 36, and are firmly retained therein, desirably by filling said slots around said tongues with type metal 46, or other similar soft metal. This type metal 46 is soft enough to permit expansion and contraction of the slicing knives;

In order to assure against vertical displacement of the knives 31 and 38 with respect to their border frame 38, and to conceal the connections between said frame and said knives, there is provided a pair of comparatively thin facing plates 41, corresponding in outline with said border frame 36, and removably secured thereto in face to face relationship by means of screws 48. These facing plates 41 have their inner border edges abutting the shoulders 50 of the slicing knives formed at the inner ends of the recesses 43, and have their outer faces substantially flush with corresponding longitudinal edges of said knives.

The slicing unit 35 is snugly retained in a recess 55 on the bottom of the cutter holder 22, and seats on the portion of the bottom wall 28 of the tray bordering a rectangular opening 5| provided in said wall. This opening 5!, the inner periphery 52 of the frame 36, and the inner periphery 53 of the bottom of the trimming cutter 20 are all of the same size and shape, and are in exact registry as shown in Fig. 4.

When certain live tubers such as potatoes are cut, they instantly expand. In order to provide for this expansion during the trimming operation, the trimming cutter 20 is flared slightly downwardly, so that the cross-section of this knife at its base is slightly larger than that at its upper end. This downward flare of the cutter 20 prevents jamming of the potato therein during the trimming operation, so that very little manual effort is required to force said potato past said cutter.

In order to reduce the amount of manual effort required to force the trimmed potato through the slicing unit 35, the knives 31 and 38 are made thickest near their center, and. thinner along their opposite edges, so that the rectangular openings 39 flare from the center thereof towards their top and bottom as shown in Fig. 4. This flaring of the openings 39 is desirably formed by grinding the upper half of each knife 31 and 38 towards a cutting edge, while the taper in the lower half may be formed by a forging operation, or if desired may also be formed by grinding. The surfaces of the knives along their longitudinal middle sections are desirably rounded and smooth, to reduce to a minimum the friction between the extruding potato slices and the knives. It has been found that with this construction, the amount of effort required to force a potato through the slicing unit is much less than that required to force the potato through a slicing unit in which the rectangular openings between the knives are of uniform cross-section throughout their height.

The means for forcing the potato through the trimming and slicing mechanisms includes a plunger 60, which is secured to the lower end of a rod 6| guided for reciprocable movement as will be hereinafter described, and which is in registry with the tubular cutter 20. This plunger 60, desirably of aluminum, is of square crosssection slightly smaller than the internal crosssection of the trimming cutter 20, to permit said plunger to pass freely thereinto, and is crossgrooved at its lower end to form a series of bosses 62. These bosses are in registry with the respective openings 39 between the slicing knives, and are of such size and shape as to enter freely through said openings. To facilitate entry of these bosses 62 in their respective openings 39, the lower edges of said bosses are desirably chamfered. When the plunger 60 reaches the limit of its downward movement, these bosses 62 entering the respective openings 39 of the slicing unit 35 effect the complete discharge of all cut strips from said openings.

The plunger 60 also serves to hold the potato against transverse slippage, especially during the initial trimming operation. In order to insure against this transverse slippage, the lower end of each boss 62 is desirably provided with a shallow circular depression 64, serving to render more effective the grip between said bosses and the upper face of the potato during trimming and slicing operations.

The plunger 60 is secured to the lower end of the plunger rod 6| by any suitable means. For instance, the upper end of the plunger 60 may be provided with a rectangular recess into which snugly seats a plate 56, secured to said plunger by screws 61, and secured to the lower end of the plunger rod 6| by a screw 68.

The plunger rod BI is desirably of rectangular cross-section, so that it can be guided for vertical movement without possibility of rotation, and is slidably held in a pair of vertically spaced similar guide posts 10, extending horizontally from the wall plate l0, and secured thereto, desirably by screws 'H. At their outer ends, the posts 10 are provided with respective rectangular recesses 12 for slidably receiving the plunger rod 6|, the outer open sides of these recesses being desirably closed by caps 13 secured to said posts by screws 14. The removable feature of these caps 13 permits easy assembly or disassembly of the plunger rod 6| with respect to the guide posts 70.

In order to move the plunger rod downwardly for trimming and slicing operations, there is provided a lever 16, the inner end of which is pivotally secured at 11 to a lug l8, removably connected to the wall plate In by means of a nut 80, threaded on a rearward screw projection 8| of said lug. The lever 16 is provided near its middle with an elongated slot 82 through which the plunger rod 6| loosely passes, and terminates at its outer end in a suitable operating handle 83. Although the lever 16 is shown substantially straight, it may be of any suitable form for easy manipulation. For instance, the handle portion of the lever might be curved upwardly if desired to facilitate manipulation.

For transmitting the operating movement of the lever I6 to the rod 6|, there is provided abutment means, desirably comprising two pairs of rollers 84, mounted on said rod on opposite sides of said lever. The rollers 84 of each pair are dis- LJUI posed on opposite faces of the rod GI, and are supported for rotation on a pin 85 passing through said rod. These rollers 84 are adapted to engage the upper or lower faces of the lever 16 opposite the slot 82, according to the direction of angular movement of said lever, to cause corresponding slide movement of the rod 6|.

The mechanism is desirably provided with means for automatically retracting the plunger rod 6| substantially to the upward position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, when the lever is manually released. For that purpose, the upper end of the plunger rod 6| has secured thereto a cap 86, threaded or otherwise secured to said rod, and serving as an abutment for one end of a coil spring 81 encircling the upper part of said rod, the lower end of said spring resting on the upper guide post 10.

In the operation of the device, a potato A after it has been peeled has the ends thereof squared off at B. The potato is then seated substantially centrally on the upper edge of the trimming cutter 20 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the lever 16 is moved downwardly to bring the plunger 60 into gripping engagement with the upper squared surface of said potato. Further downward movement of the lever 15 will force the potato downwardly over the tubular cutter 20. In this operation, the irregular rounded sides of the potato which are trimmed off by the cutter 20 fall into the tray I2, while the rectangular core portion is forced through the tubular knife until it reaches the cutting edges of the slicing unit 35. During this downward movement of the potato core through the cutter 20, the expansion that has taken place in this core as the result of the trimming operation is provided for by the downward flare of said cutter, so that this core does not jam. Further downward movement of the lever 16 will force the rectangular potato core through the slicing unit 35, to cut said core into a series of long thin strips of uniform crosssection. As the plunger reaches the limit of its downward movement, the bosses 52 extending into the openings 39 of the slicing unit will eject the cut strips from said openings, into a suitable receptacle (not shown) underneath the slicing unit 35. Upon manual release of the lever 16 at the end of this trimming and slicing operation, the spring 81 will restore the plunger into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 preparatory to the trimming and slicing of the next potato. The scraps and trimmings that fall into the tray l2 may be swept by hand through the spout i211, and into a suitable receptacle, and these may be used for other culinary purposes, as for instance in the making of mashed potatoes.

Due to the flaring construction of the trimming knife 20 and the slicing unit 35 as already described, the manual effort required to force the potato through the various cutting units is slight.

The preliminary trimming operations assure the cutting of the potatoes instrips, all of uniform cross-section, irrespective of any irregularity in the shape of said potatoes. These uniform strips are discharged separately from the irregular trimmings, so that no sorting of the potato cuttings is necessary. By providing a uniform distance between the square cuts B of a sumciently large potato, assurance is had that the portion of French fry cut in one stroke is strictly uniform in number, length and cross-section of slices.

The parts of the device while assembled are easily accessible for effective and expeditious washing and cleaning. The easy removability of these parts permits more thorough cleaning thereof, and permits easy repair or replacement of these parts.

Although the slicing unit 35 is shown in a form to cut potatoes for French frying, as far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, these may be of any design in accordance with the character of the edible to be sliced, or the culinary process to which the slices are to be subjected. For instance, the so-called Alumette potatoes, more knives 31 and 38 may be provided closer together to form smaller square openings 39, or the knives may be arranged to define openings therebetween of oblong rectangular cross-section to form chips.

If desired, a slicing unit as shown in Fig. 9 may be provided for cutting potatoes or other edibles into corrugated slices. In this form of slicing unit, there is provided a series of equally spaced corrugated knives 90 extending across onposite sides of the border frame 36, and crossed by a knife 9! midway between said sides. These knives 90 and BI are interlocked by halving joints, and are secured to the border frame 36 in the manner already described with reference to the construction of Figs. 1 to 7. Also, the openings between the knives may be flared towards opposite edges of said knives to facilitate extrusion therethrough of the slices as already described.

The frames for each of these slicing units of different designs may be similar in size and shape, so that they can be interchangeably mounted as the needs therefor arise.

Although the present construction is shown as desirably applied to an edible such as a potato after said edible has been peeled, as far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, the trimming cutter may be used for the double function of peeling and at the same time trimming to predetermined cross-section. For instance, if the machine were large enough to handle a pineapple, such a pineapple need not be peeled before seating it on the trimming knife. In such a case, the trimmings and scraps with the skin thereon can be used for the production of pineapple juice.

Or if desired, the same machine that slices potatoes can be used for slicing pineapple by cutting the pineapple into blocks sufliciently small to be handled by the trimming and slicing units of said machine.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for trimming and slicing edibles, comprising a substantially horizontal tray having a discharge spout and a discharge opening in the bottom thereof, an upright downwardly flaring tubular trimming member removably secured to said bottom wall immediately above said opening, and presenting a cutting edge at the upper end thereof along its entire rim, said tubular member having a recess at the bottom thereof, a slicing unit comprising a border frame, and

g a series of knives, secured in said border frame,

and arranged to form openings therebetween predetermining the cross-section of the slices, said slicing unit being seated upon the bottom wall of said tray with said border frame extending into said recess, and said knives extending across the bottom of said tubular member with their cutting edges on top.

2. A machine for trimming and slicing edibles, comprising a frame plate adapted to be vertically supported in operating position, a bracket on the lower end of said frame plate extending forwardly therefrom and rigid therewith, a substantially horizontal tray seated on said bracket and detachably secured thereto, said tray having a discharge spout and a discharge opening in the bottom wall thereof, an upright tubular trimming member on said bottom wall above said opening, and presenting a cutting edge at its upper end alon its entire rim, and a slicing unit seated on said bottom wall, and extending across said opening on the bottom of said trimming member for cutting and trimming edibles into strips.

3. A machine for trimming and slicing edibles comprising an upright frame adapted to be socured to a wall, a bracket rigid with said frame, a tray removably mounted on said bracket, said tray having a lateral discharge spout and having an aperture therein, an upright tubular trimming member having a recess in the bottom thereof, a slicing unit comprising a plurality of knives having a fram thereabout, said frame being lodged in said recess, said trimming unit and the associated knife frame being removably aflixed to said tray in registry with the opening therethrough, guide posts rigid with said frame, a plunger rod guided therein, operating means therefor and a plunger aligned with said trimming member, whereby in operation the potato or other vegetable interposed between the plunger and the trimming member will be trimmed to the cross-section of said trimming member and thereupon the vegetable will be readily forced through the trimming member and the slicing member, the trimmings on the tray being readily swept therefrom through the discharge spout thereof.

4. The machine recited in claim 1 wherein each of the series of knives that are secured in the border frame is rounded at its mid-section and tapers to its upper and lower edges.

HANS LETSCH. ELTON E. BURGESS. 

